When a crisis occurs, its political implications are typically said to depend on how it is "handled". Was the prime minister quick to spot the problem? Did he get ahead of events with a plan of action? Was there a communications strategy to soothe anxious voters? If so, this sort of analysis runs, he collects a political windfall. If not, he suffers. Bad crisis-management can indeed cost lives, livelihoods-and votes. But history suggests that the real political import lies in whether and how the events change public opinion on the issues in question.
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